Although the Dallas Cowboys’ season was cut short due to a disappointing 7-9-1 record, the offense still thrived. Two of their new additions, Javonte Williams and George Pickens, produced in their first
season with the Dallas Cowboys, with the latter being named a second-team All-Pro. Coincidentally, both players did it just at the right time and are set for new contracts at the beginning of the new league year.
Both players are still young and in their primes. Pickens and Williams could be cornerstones for the team’s future. Their upcoming free agency commands a lot of attention, and for good reason. However, their impending free agency is overshadowing another homegrown talent that the Cowboys cannot part with and must secure a long-term deal with as soon as possible. The Cowboys have to hammer out a lengthy new contract with their kicker, Brandon Aubrey.
Aubrey’s contract situation is different. Unlike Pickens and Williams, Aubrey will be a restricted free agent, but what does that mean? In short, a restricted free agent is a player with an expiring contract with three accrued seasons who can negotiate a contract with other teams, but the Cowboys would have the right to match an offer or receive draft compensation. The compensation given in exchange also depends on the type of tender placed on Aubrey before the free agency period begins in March. Under this particular status, the Cowboys can tender Aubrey with three different designations.
First is the right of first refusal, which means that the Cowboys can match an offer from another team to Aubrey, but if they decline to match the offer, they will not receive draft compensation if Aubrey is signed away to another team. Next is the second-round tender. Under this option, the Cowboys would have the right to match an offer, but if they decline to match the deal, they would receive a second-round draft pick in exchange. Finally, is the first-round tender and it’s largely the same as the second-round tender except under this stipulation, a team would have to give the Cowboys their first-round draft pick if they sign him away from Dallas. Per overthecap.com, they predict the tenders to look like this:
We’ve already heard reports that the Cowboys are likely to place the second-round tender on Aubrey ahead of free agency.
Dallas would like to save themselves from a bunch of unnecessary drama by giving Aubrey a new contract outright. They tried by speaking with Aubrey’s representation last summer but couldn’t come to an agreement. The question is: How much will it cost?
We should fully expect Aubrey to reset the market for kickers on a new contract. Again per overthecap.com, Harrison Butker is the highest-paid kicker in the NFL with a four-year $25.6M contract that incudes $15M fully guaranteed, which is easily the most guaranteed money to a kicker per overthecap.com. To fully assess how much exactly Dallas would have to pay to sign Aubrey, let’s first decide how much annual salary Aubrey would cost.
The highest salary is Butker’s at $6.4M, signed in August of 2024. Before that, Jake Elliott signed for a $6M salary in March 2024, a difference of $400K between him and the now highest-paid Butker. With an increasing salary cap and Aubrey being as decorated as he is, let’s assert that his annual salary is slightly more of a differential than the one between Butker and Elliott. Let’s go with Aubrey at $7.2M on an annual salary. Then, to push the figure down the road to give the Cowboys some cap relief in the onset, Dallas should try to sign Aubrey to a five-year contract. Lastly is the amount of fully guaranteed money. Using Butker again as an example, his contract had just under 70% of its total value guaranteed at $17.75M. In total, Aubrey’s proposed deal would amount to a five-year contract worth $36M, with $25.2 of it guaranteed.
As to why the Cowboys should pay such a rich contract? Since winning the kicking job in 2023, Aubrey has changed the entire dynamic of how Dallas approaches end-of-half situations and how they play on third downs once they cross the 50-yard line. No longer do the Cowboys have to be forced to punt from the plus side of the field. Aubrey has enough range to make a kick from 65 yards and possibly longer if the conditions are favorable.
In his short career, he has shown elite consistency. He has the NFL record for the most consecutive made field goals to start a career (35). He also made the Pro Bowl in each of his three NFL seasons. It’s easy to forget how tumultuous the kicking position was in Dallas between Dan Bailey and Brandon Aubrey, with stints in between that featured Greg Zuerlein and Brett Maher. His accuracy did take a dip last year, but that only proved that he’s human, as he’s established such a high standard beforehand. As of now, Aubrey has made the most 60-yard field goals in NFL history (6) and the longest in the history of the franchise.
Let’s not forget how good he is at the new dynamic kickoff. Aubrey did an excellent job of placing the football in the landing zones at the corners of the field of play. Unfortunately, the Cowboys’ kick coverage wasn’t as good to showcase Aubrey’s proficiency. Who can forget how good he is in clutch moments? Think back to Aubrey’s 64-yard field goal last season against the New York Giants to force the game into overtime and then the 46-yard kick to win the game. Having a practically automatic three points every time the team crosses midfield is a valuable weapon.
